This has been a good week for Google as the annual I/O Conference brought more than 7,000 webmasters, SEO experts, AdWords professionals and others together. Amazon also announced that they are now able to power homes completely with Alexis. Keep reading to see what else happened this week.

During the Sixth International Conference on Learning Representations, Google released a new paper called Ask The Right Questions: Active Question Reformulation with Reinforcement Learning which may change the way that pages are ranked in the near future using machine learning to match user intent that the company refers to as improving relevance. The importance of links on websites may tumble while the importance of meeting the needs of the person doing the searching may rise even more.

For many years, Google has used a method called dogfooding to test their products while receiving internal feedback. Recently, some users have logged into their accounts to discover that they could see the dogfooding links that are only intended for use within the company.

If you own or manage a podcast, recipe, and news site using structured data markup and/or Accelerated Mobile Pages, then may be able to make your information even easier to find for those using Google Assistant Browsable Actions Directory. Be sure to check your Search Console to see if Google sent you further details.

During a Google Webmaster Central office-hours hangout, John Mueller said that it can take months for major site changes to be reflected in Google search results. If the changes coincide with a change in Google’s algorithm, then the two are probably unrelated.

At the I/O Conference, Google announced two new test tools for those that build sites using JavaScript, JavaScript frameworks and AJAX. The first allows you how accessible your site is to the mobile user while the second shows you non-textual user interface elements that can be used on your page.

Google has announced that three important changes are being implemented to Google Maps. The Explore tab allows users to see nearby activities and events while the Your Match will show you how likely you are to enjoy an event based on your personal feedback of similar events. Group planning allows you to plan a group event while the For You tab suggests dining and activities in a particular neighborhood.

Google rolled out a new AdWords interface last year, and it met with some rough reception. Google has continued to listen to feedback adding new features. Now, the company says that it will do away with the old interface by the end of the year.

Users downloaded 94 billion apps from Google Play in 2017, and now the company has announced several updates that will make it easier for publishers to introduce and promote their apps. For example, the company is beta testing an addition letting advertisers connect their product catalogs to their ads in aps.

Top Social Media News

Sorry – no big news in social that we were following this week though if you think we missed anything please let us know in the comments below.

More people than ever before are counting on Alexa to do skills for them like checking their balance, paying bills, control your entertainment system, place your order at your favorite restaurant and many others. Now, Amazon has announced that developers can monetize their skill development efforts, and they can develop those skills without having to know how to code.

Google is highlighting the advances that they are quickly making with Google Assistant at their I/O Conference. These changes include customizing voices, continuing conversations without re-waking up the device, creating and scheduling routines and providing a richer visual experience.

Search engine algorithms are like a recipe where rules governing every small detail add together to make a delicious meal like a roast beef dinner. When you understand the entities that make up the algorithm, then you can better create content matching user intent.

Just when you may have started thinking SEO mobile first, Google is sending out strong signals that they are quickly moving to ranking voice search first. Roger Montti suggests that website owners start thinking in terms of voice first by structuring pages for voice searchers, using structured data and optimizing for voice search.